State stands by expert committee findings on BMIC land requirement

State stands by expert committee findings on BMIC land requirement
New Indian Express

BANGALORE: The State government, on Tuesday, submitted its arguments before the Supreme Court to drive home its point that the findings of the expert committee about the land required for the BMIC project were full of facts, and not done under any pressure.

Senior Counsel, Anil Divan, appeared for Karnataka and presented his arguments so as to overcome any estoppel or res judicata, the respondent Nandi Infrastructure Corridor Enterprises had claimed in the Bangalore Mysore Infrastructure Corridor (BMIC) project case.

A three-Judge Bench headed by Justice Ruma Pal and comprising Justice B N Srikrishna and Justice Dalbeer Bhandary is hearing an appeal by the State government, MLA J C Madhuswamy, the petitioner in the PIL before the High Court and the landlords against a judgment of the Karnataka High Court.

Divan submitted to the Bench that there was no estoppel or res judicata as the total extent of land required for the BMIC project was not decided by courts in 1997 in a PIL, filed by one Somashekara Reddy, who had challenged the project. (Estoppel refers to rule of evidence whereby someone is prevented from denying or asserting a fact in legal proceedings, and res judicata means the issue before the court has already been decided by another court).

The senior counsel informed the Court that the actual requirement of the land for the project had not yet been finalised when Reddy’s PIL was heard and decided in 1997.

It was only after October 14, 1998, that NICE signed up with the Karnataka Industrial Areas Development Board (KIADB) on the lands to be acquired for the project, and even here, the NICE indicated its requirement to KIADB in phases, and not in one go.

The Bench did not entertain NICE advocate Dushyant Dave when he tried to interrupt Divan as it was the State government’s turn to present its arguments. Divan, however, has to conclude his arguments on Wednesday.